Branding your Agency through the Candidate Experience

When recruiting, it is important to make it a positive experience for the candidate. Handling the process wrong can be very self destructive and do damage to your agencies brand. An astonishing 70% of online applicants NEVER get a reply. In this blog we will cover four of the important things to remember as you develop your own process.

1. Job Advertisements

Impressions: When recruiting it is important to remember that however the candidate stumbles across your opportunity, this will be their first impression of you. Make it count! Build yourself a specific ad tailored to what YOUR agency is looking for. The more time and effort you put into it, the better quality of candidate you will attract. Don’t let your first impression on them be that you couldn’t be bothered to complete a full job posting. Personalize your job posting and represent your brand honestly and accurately.

Logo: Make sure to have a company logo uploaded so as to continue the continuity of your brand. Don’t have one? Call or email us for assistance. We would be happy to help!

Photos: By adding a photo to your ad you are not only creating a complete posting, but also giving it some visual interest. This helps you to personalize the experience. Another reason to add a photo is to keep your candidate’s interest and keep them reading. Attention spans are shorter than they used to be and you have a very short window in which to make an impression.

2. Communication

Practice: Go through your recruiting process from the point of view of the candidate. Does everything seem respectable and fair? Role playing with a current staff member could help work out the kinks.

Common Courtesy: As we stated above, only 30% of online applicants even hear back from the employers. Don’t let this happen to you. No matter if you are not interested, make sure to send an email reply to EVERY candidate so as to maintain or build a positive brand. After going through the interview process only 60 % of applicants would say they had a positive experience. Turn the tides and make it a positive and respectable experience for every applicant.

Honesty: Maintain an honest approach to your recruiting process. Meet all deadlines you have set. Follow the same steps for each applicant. If they are expecting a call from you on or before a certain date, set yourself a reminder as to not forget. One missed call could not only cost you a great applicant, but hurt your brand by bad word of mouth.

Email Templates: Utilize the pre-selected email responses within your database. Not only are they EEOC compliant, but you can respond to your candidates within seconds.

Candidate Notes: Keep all of your notes in-house by using the comments section. You can also rate each candidate. These features will not only keep you organized, but streamline the communication pipeline.

3. Culture and Personality

Rigidness: Just as we explained how having personality can help attract candidates, being aware of your agencies culture can improve the experience and set you apart from other businesses. Keep up with the times and keep your process current. Maintaining the same rigid process is eventually going to become stale. Is a college degree really the only determinant in how an applicant will perform in the future? Very unlikely.

CultureFit: Find someone who seems to fit right in, but stand out at the same time. Could they help or hurt your current culture? Have them interact with their possible teammates to gauge culture fit.

FalseImpressions: Be careful not to give your candidates false impressions on daily tasks, agency policies, and advancement opportunities. They will be disappointed once they are into the daily swing of things if they have been given false hopes. We don’t want it to be a bait-and-switch.

4. Seek Honest Feedback

Feelings: When you go through a process that reflects your current brand, or the one you are trying to establish, you will be able to tweak things along the way. Listen and ask your applicants for feedback throughout the process. Let their interpretations give you the perspective you need to alter things that didn’t work. Would they recommend your company to their peers?

Engagement: Candidates that are nurtured and given realistic information throughout the process hit the ground running once they start their employment. Give them an honest expectation of what their first year will entail. We want an employee who will be engaged in their work. We want a fit to be made for each side. It is unfair to settle and place an applicant in a role they just aren’t best suited for.

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I can not say how much time and effort has been saved by using Ideal Traits. As a previous Allstate Sales Manager and 25 years of interviewing LSP’s and agents trying to determine the right hire. IdealTraits is the only system with a complete hiring process.